The Riviera Resort

This week on Mouse Management and More, we are heading
to the newest Disney Vacation Club resort at Walt Disney World, one of the most beautiful places I have ever walked into at Walt Disney World. Disney's Riviera Resort opened in December 2019,
inspired by Walt and Lillian Disney's love of the European
Riviera, and it shows in every single corner of this property. We
are covering the origin story, the mosaic murals that stopped
me in my tracks the first time I walked through, the Skyliner
gondola that makes the transportation here unlike anything
else in the DVC system, the Tower Studios that are a room type
entirely their own, and Topolino's Terrace --- a rooftop
character breakfast where Mickey shows up dressed as a
painter. Yes, really. If the Riviera has not been on your radar, it
is about to be.

Transcript

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Oh, where magic meets the perfect plan. It's mouse management and more. The happiest travel podcast. There's magic in store.

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Welcome back to Mouse Management and More. I'm Megan Howard, and I'm so glad you're here today. A little bit about me, if you haven't heard previous episodes. My background is in art. I spent years teaching it, and that part of my brain has never fully clocked out. Even as my whole world shifted into travel. The creative lens just came along for the ride. I walk into a room and I'm already reading the walls, the colors, the composition, what somebody was trying to say with the space. I've been told that I take a very long time to walk through museums. It is not always the most useful trait at a dinner party, but it turns out to be extremely handy when you spend a lot of time in Disney resorts. So when you merge that with travel, it would make sense that Europe has always had a hold on me. Greece, the coast, the markets in the morning, that particular light on the water in the afternoon, the golden hour feeling that the whole continent just seems to understand. The European Riviera, especially, has a warmth and beauty to it that I have never been able to fully put into words. The colors, the architecture, the way everything looks like someone took real care with it. I love that part of the world. So when I walked into Disney's Riviera Resort for the first time, I did not get very far before I was completely stopped. You pass through the archway of the Skyliner station, and on both sides of that archway, from the ground all the way up to the ceiling, are two mosaic murals. Together, they contain over one million individual handcut tiles, over 20 feet tall. On one side, Peter Pan is flying over London towards Neverland, with Wendy, John, and Michael trailing behind him across the ceiling above your head. On the other side, it is the lantern scene from Tangled, Rapunzel's Tower, the lanterns rising into the sky, and all of it in glass tile that catches the light differently depending on where you're standing. Both scenes are about flight. Both lead directly to the Skyliner gondola station. Someone made that connection on purpose, and I love them for it. I stood in that archway for a while. And as an art teacher, you do not just look at something like that. You feel the weight of what it took. Every single tile cut by hand, the design mapped out before a single piece was placed. I was not expecting to be stopped in my tracks, and it was a wonderful surprise. That was the moment I understood what this resort was going for. Not just a European look, not just borrowed elegance, something that actually carries the spirit of the place, the craftsmanship, the beauty, the idea that a hallway is worth slowing down for. And I love a newer hotel on top of all of that. The Riviera opened in December of 2019. Everything is fresh, current, and intentional. Nothing feels dated. This is episode 13, and today we are going to the Riviera. To understand why this resort looks the way it does, we have to go back to 1935. Walt and Lillian Disney took what became known as the Grand Tour of Europe that year, traveling through France, Italy, and along the Mediterranean coast. Walt was not the kind of traveler who sits back and takes it easy. He collected books, he sketched, he absorbed everything. He came home with his eyes full of things that would eventually find their way into everything he built. The art, the architecture, the stories, all of it. And the Riviera Resort is the most dedicated love letter to that trip that Disney has ever built. Real photographs from Walt and Lillian's European travels are displayed throughout the resort. This is not a fictional version of Europe or a general Mediterranean vibe thrown at some buildings. It is a tribute to the places they actually went, things they actually saw, and a chapter of Walt's life that shaped his imagination in ways he carried for the rest of his career. There's something really special about that. Let's circle back to the opening for a minute. Disney's Riviera Resort opened on December 16th, 2019, almost exactly 28 years to the day after Old Key West welcomed its first 50 families in December 1991. It is the newest chapter of the DVC story, and in so many ways it shows what the program has become. The transportation is different, the art is different, the room types are different, the whole feeling is different. The Riviera knows exactly what it is, and that kind of confidence is really charming. So let's talk about location for a minute because the Riviera has what I think is the best transportation story in the entire Disney Vacation Club system. The resort sits between Epcot and Disney's Hollywood studios. And getting to either one does not involve a bus. The Disney Skyliner Gondola has its own dedicated station right at Disney's Riviera Resort. Not a shared stop, not a walk to a nearby station, its own station, steps from the lobby. You step onto a Skyliner and you are at Epcotts International Gateway in minutes. You go the other direction and you're at Hollywood Studios just as quickly. The Skyliner runs continuously. The views over the resort and the surrounding properties are lovely. And the whole ride just feels like a really fun way to start the day. So instead of entering through Future World and walking all the way to the back, you step off a Skyliner and you are already in the middle of World Showcase. If Epcot is your park, and between Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind and the World Showcase Dining and the festivals, Epcot is a lot of people's park right now. The Riviera's access makes the whole experience feel easy and fun. Buses are available for Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and the water parks too. But for the two parks that tend to anchor most Walt Disney World trips today, you have a Skyliner gondola. That is a pretty great situation to be in. So I think we can agree that the transportation system from the Riviera is pretty cool. But let's also talk about the rooms, which are equally as cool. And I want to start with one that exists nowhere else in the Disney Vacation Club system. And that's the Tower Studio. The Tower Studies is 255 square feet. There are only 24 of them in the entire resort, and they sleep two people, have a queen bed, a mini fridge, and no sofa bed. And that last part is intentional. The tower studio is not a small room that ran out of space. It is a room that was specifically designed for two people who want something private, chic, and just right for the two of them. No extra anything, just a beautiful little space with the full Riviera aesthetic and a view from up in the tower. People who stay in them are very enthusiastic about them. If you are traveling as a couple or heading solo and you want something current and a little unexpected, the tower studio is worth looking into. It also tends to run at one of the lower point costs in the resort, which is also a nice bonus. Beyond the tower studios, deluxe studios are 423 square feet and sleep five with a queen bed, full sofa bed, and a kitchenette. One bedroom villas bring in the full kitchen, a king bed, with a whirlpool tub, and an in-unit washer and dryer. Oh, and a living room with a sofa bed. Two bedroom villas combine a one bedroom and a studio to sleep a larger group comfortably. And grand villas are the full picture. Multiple bedrooms and bathrooms across two levels, sleeping 12, with views that on the right nights include fireworks. Every room carries the same European modern feel. Warm tones, clean lines, art on the walls that was chosen with intention. The rooms feel like someone made a real decision about every single detail in them. That is rarer than you might think, and it really shows. One more thing I want to mention: DVC contracts at the Riviera Resort expire January 31st, 2070. That is the longest contract term of any Disney Vacation Club resort currently available. Old Key West's original contracts expire in 2042. Saratoga Springs in 2054. The Riviera gives buyers the furthest runway into that system, approximately 44 years of Disney trips from today. If that sounds like your kind of math, this is the right resort. So let's talk a little bit about dining. Dining at the Riviera is one of the best stories on property, so let's give it some proper time. Okay, so let's start at the beginning then. Topolino's Terrace is on the rooftop of the resort tower, and it does two very different things at two very different times of the day. In the morning, it's a character breakfast. Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Daisy all dressed up as European artists. Mickey comes as a painter, Minnie as a poet, Donald as a sculptor, and Daisy as a ballerina. The costumes alone are worth the reservation. And yes, that is a real thing, I'm telling you. It is a prefix breakfast with pastries, your choice of entree, juice, and coffee, and the characters make their rounds in a beautiful, light-filled room with rooftop views. In the evening, Topolino's terrace shifts into signature dining mode. The menu goes French and Italian, the vibe goes upscale, and the rooftop view, which includes the Epcot fireworks on the right nights, makes one of the prettiest dinner settings anywhere on Walt Disney World property. One restaurant, two completely different experiences, but both are truly lovely. Primo Piatto is the resort's quick service serving Italian-inspired breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The name means first course in Italian or plate, which is a great name for a restaurant that handles your first meal of the day. The food is really good for a quick service stop, and the space is very well designed. Bar Riva is the pool bar, European and Mediterranean-inspired food and cocktails right there at the water. If your afternoon calls for a spritz and something light while you figure out whether you're gonna get back in the pool, Bar Riva has you covered. And then there's Le Petit Cafe, which might be my favorite detail about this resort. Le Petit Cafe lives in the resort lobby and changes personalities completely depending on the time of day. In the morning, it is all freshly brewed coffee, lattes, and beautiful pastries. The kind of breakfast you carry to a quiet spot while the resort is still waking up around you. In the evening, it becomes a wine bar. Same space, completely different energy. You can end your night right there in the lobby with a glass of something French and feel very much like you are in the right place. That kind of thoughtfulness about how a space is used throughout the day is very European and very much on point in this resort. The resort shop, Le Boutique, carries the same aesthetic as everything else here. Warm, European inspired, painterly, if you will. The character art across the collection tends towards the artist version of Mickey and Friends that you'll recognize from Topolino's Terrace. And the color palette runs warm and muted in that Cote d'Azur way. Nothing loud, nothing that feels out of place, just cohesive, well-designed resort merchandise that actually matches the resort it came from. If you love visually intentional things, and after walking through those mosaic murals, you will, La Boutique is worth a real browse. The mosaic-inspired details that run throughout the resort show up in the merchandise too. And it all hangs together in a way that a lot of resort shops never quite achieve. It's definitely worth the stop. Let's talk a little bit about the amenities, because the main pool at the Riviera is the Riviera pool, and it has everything you want from a resort pool: a winding slide, lounge chair, colorful umbrellas, and bar Riva right there whenever the afternoon requires it. Right alongside the main pool is Civu Play, the resort's interactive water play area for little ones. It's inspired by the grand European fountains and features Fantasia characters, which is such a good combination that I actually smiled when I found out about it. If you have kids who want to splash around in a Fantasia fountain while you sit nearby with a poolside spritz, C Vu play delivers exactly that. A second quieter leisure pool called Beau Soleil, which means beautiful sun in French. And yes, that is the best pool name at Walt Disney World. It sits on the other side of the grounds for anyone who wants the pool experience without the main pool scene. A fitness center is also available for guests. And I want to mention the resort lobby and the spaces around it, because they are absolutely worth wandering through, even if you are just visiting for the day. The design pays tribute to Walt's travels throughout. The artwork, the warmth of the rooms, the details tucked into unexpected corners. It feels like people who loved this project were involved in every square inch of it, which, given the archway, it tracks completely. Okay, so who is Disney's Riviera Resort for? Well, for one, it is great for couples. The Tower Studios were built specifically for two, and the whole resort has a romantic, intimate quality that bigger family resorts do not quite have. Honeymoons, anniversaries, a trip that's just the two of you, the Riviera handles all of that beautifully. It is definitely for the Epcot crowd. If your Disney trip is organized around Epcot and Hollywood Studios, the World Showcase, the Food and Wine Festival, Guardians, International Dining, the Skyliner from this resort is the best possible situation. You're not waiting for a bus. You are stepping onto a Skyliner gondola with a great view and arriving at the French pavilion in minutes. For the guests who built their whole trip around Epcot, this is the definite right address. It is also for the person who appreciates beautiful things. If you notice the art on the walls, if you like a hotel that has a clear point of view, if you are the kind of traveler who slows down for the details, the Riviera is going to make you very happy. It is the most visually thoughtful DVC resort at Walt Disney World. The mosaics alone are worth the visit. And it's for anyone who loves a newer hotel. The Riviera opened in 2019. Everything is fresh. Everything is current. Nothing has been around long enough to feel worn. If the crispness of a newer property is part of what you are looking for, this is the only DVC resort at Walt Disney World that gives you all of that right now. Okay, I have a couple fun things to tell you and a couple things to review. But let's start with number one. Disney's Riviera Resort opened on December 16th, 2019, making it the newest Disney Vacation Club Resort at Walt Disney World. It opened almost exactly 28 years after Old Key West welcomed its first 50 families in December of 1991. The DVC program has come a long way in 28 years, and the Riviera is proof of that. Number two, this is a cute one. Topolino is Italian for Little Mouse. It is also the name Italians have used for Mickey Mouse since the 1930s. Almost as long as Mickey has existed. So the rooftop restaurant named Topolino's Terrace is, in the best possible way, Mickey's Terrace. Walt knew this. You can be absolutely certain it was not named by accident, and it is a delightful little detail. Number three, the two mosaic murals in the archway between the Skyliner station and the resort contain over one million hand cut tiles in total. Every single tile is a unique shape and size. They stand over 20 feet tall and span the full ceiling. Peter Pan on one side, tangled on the other, both celebrating flight, both pointing you straight to the skyliner. There are details in those murals that most people walk right past. Give yourself a little extra time in that archway. It's so worth it. Number four, there are only 24 tower studios in the entire resort, and no other DVC property has anything like them. They were designed without a sofa bed on purpose. Not because there was not enough room, but because this room was always meant to be just for two. An intimate little room. It is one of the only DVC room types built around that idea from the start. And the people who stay in them tend to be very pleased about that choice. Number five, DVC contracts at the Riviera expire January 31st, 2070, the longest of any currently active Disney Vacation Club resort. Old Key West original contracts end in 2042. Saratoga Springs in 2054. The Riviera is the furthest horizon in the system right now, giving buyers roughly 44 years from today. That is a lot of Disney trips built into one purchase. Number six real photographs from Walt and Lillian Disney's European travels are displayed throughout the resort. Is a tribute to the specific trip Walt took in 1935. Places he and Lillian actually went, and a part of his life that shaped everything that came after it. Staying here puts you in the middle of that story in a small but deeply meaningful way. Number seven, the Riviera Skyliner Station is the only dedicated Skyliner station at any Disney vacation club resort at Disney World. Other resorts near the Skyliner share stops or require a short walk. The Riviera has its own, right outside the lobby. On a typical morning, you can have a latte at La Petite Cafe, walk to the station, and be stepping off at Epcot in just minutes. That is a pretty wonderful way to start a park day. Number eight, if you purchase Riviera Points resale rather than directly from Disney, your booking options are limited to the Riviera resort only. This is different from older DVC resorts where resale buyers still have access to the full system. It is an important thing to understand before making any DVC purchasing decision. And it makes the direct versus resale question more significant here than any other resort in the program. We will do a dedicated episode to DVC and DVC points and how they work, but for now we're going to keep moving on with the Riviera. Number nine, speaking of that, you do not have to own DVC to stay here. The Riviera Resort is bookable by any guest through the standard Walt Disney World reservation system at a standard nightly rate. DVC members get early booking windows, so availability from non-members can vary. But if your dates are flexible, staying as a regular guest is absolutely an option. The Tower Studios, Topolino's Terrace, the Skyliner, the Mosaics in the Archway, all of it is available to anyone with a reservation. Okay, number 10, you need to follow me here. There is a room at the Riviera that does not appear on any floor map or resort signage. On the eighth floor, the hallway signs list rooms up to 8346. But if you walk all the way to the end of the hall, there is room 8347, plain as day, with a number on the door. Multiple guests have gone to the front desk to ask about it and have gotten some very interesting responses. Disney has never officially commented on it. Nobody knows if it was intentional or just a quirk of how the resort was built. But if you stay there, you now know to go and look. Number 11. The resort grounds have a bocce ball court, lawn chest, and a giant connect four. I am not sure any other DVC resort can say that. If your travel style includes a slow afternoon outside with a good game and a cold drink nearby, the Riviera has thought of you. Number 12. Off the lobby, tucked away from the main activity of the resort, is the Voyeur's Lounge, a quiet, library-like setting room filled with journals, maps, travel objects, and decor inspired by Walt's European travels. Most guests walk right past it, but it's the kind of room that rewards the people who slow down and look around, which feels very on brand for this resort. And number 13, the gelato cart at the pool is from Vivoli, a gelateria that has been opened in Florence since 1929. It's not a generic resort dessert stand. It is a real Florentine institution, and the same brand has a location in Disney Springs. If you want to find it, it's in the parks too. A scoop of gelato from a nearly hundred-year-old Italian recipe poolside at a European-inspired Disney resort. That is pretty wonderful in the afternoon. So that's it. That's Disney's Riviera Resort. The newest, the most beautiful, the one with a skyliner gondola to Epcot and a rooftop restaurant and a mosaic archway that stopped me completely in my tracks. I have loved putting this episode together, and I really hope it helps you see the resort the way that I do. Thank you so much for being here. Whether you are deep in the planning weeds or just daydreaming about your next trip, I'm also so glad this podcast is part of your day. It means more than I can say. If you are enjoying mouse management and more, could you please take a moment to leave a review wherever you listen? It helps so many people find the podcast. And for a show this size, this small, every single one counts. Share it with your Disney people, the group chat, the friend who is finally planning a trip, the travel agent who loves a good resource, anyone that wants to listen. Next episode, we are making a big move, leaving the deluxe resorts behind and heading into the moderate category. A whole new price point, a whole new set of stories, and some resorts that really do surprise people.

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Till the next adventure from most management and more,